


Anatomy Of A Meet-Cute

by thelilacfield



Series: there is no world where i am not yours [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, F/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:02:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25745551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelilacfield/pseuds/thelilacfield
Summary: "Vision, 22, final year of my history degree.""Nice to meet you. I'm Wanda, 24, first year of my masters in mental health counselling.""Oh, that's interesting!" he gushes. Too enthusiastically, if her soft laugh is anything to judge by. But making her laugh is a thrill he wants to chase.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Series: there is no world where i am not yours [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859725
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	Anatomy Of A Meet-Cute

**A/N:** Day six of AU-gust! And you can read more about the challenge and see what else is coming **[here](https://augustwritingchallenge.tumblr.com/post/621653119656493056/the-list-of-prompts-was-completed-one-prompt-per#notes)**!

Please leave a comment if you enjoy this fic! I'm on tumblr and twitter **@ mximoffromanoff** if anyone wants to chat!

* * *

Sam is dancing along the curb, one foot in front of the other, his umbrella waving wildly in one hand while he sing songs, "I am so drunk, I am so drunk, I had seven shots of tequila, I am so drunk."

"Sam, get down," Vision says sternly. He's too busy balancing Mantis on his back for the sake of the blister on her foot to grab Sam himself, and looks despairingly at Nebula. She just rolls her eyes and continues clicking at Uber, and he repeats, " _Sam_ , get down. You're going to hurt yourself."

"Don't be so boring!" Sam crows, still balancing along the precarious curb. "I am the epitome of grace and elegance! I am the drunken tightrope walker!"

"Jesus _Christ_ ," Nebula mutters, and Vision gives her a look before he gently sets Mantis down and goes to grab Sam.

"Stop trying to control me!" Sam yells, continuing to run away along the line of the curb instead of getting back on the pavement like a sensible person. "I can't be tamed!"

It happens in slow motion. Sam's foot catching on a gap in the kerb. Him falling to the ground with his shoe still stuck there. An audible crack that Vision hears in the split-second before he reaches his roommate's side.

"Ow," Sam says faintly, and Vision tries to help him upright. He gets him sitting before Sam murmurs, "Wow, I feel dizzy as fuck," and he looks up at Nebula for help.

"We're gonna head home," she says, waving an Uber confirmation screen at him. "I'll grab another one to the hospital for you and the epitome of grace and elegance."

"But we can stay if you want though!" Mantis says from where she's sitting on the ground, glitter smeared over her face and her bare feet on the wet ground.

"No, you two go home," Vision says, and Nebula gives him a grateful look. "I've got him. I'll text if we need anything."

He manages to get Sam upright before their Uber arrives, acting as a human crutch while Sam hops towards the car. The driver gives them a confused look but drives them to the hospital anyway, and Vision immediately runs inside to ask someone for help guiding Sam across the parking lot. He beams all over his drunken face when the handsome young man helping them goes to get him a wheelchair to avoid jarring his ankle, and tugs Vision down to mumble, "Is it against his oath thing for me to ask for his number?"

"I don't know, ask him," Vision hisses, and Sam just grins. He's grinning as he's wheeled away to be checked over, and Vision scrubs a hand through his hair and tells someone following him, "I'll be in the café if he needs anything. I'm his roommate."

He finally has the first moment alone since Sam greeted him after his last exam as he walks to the café, and he just breathes out. Rain has seeped through his coat to darken the elbows of his sweater, and he sighs and rubs water off his glasses, not even daring to think about how his hair looks after getting drenched trying to walk home. At least he has Sam's umbrella for now.

The café is practically deserted, and he immediately straightens up when he sees the girl behind the counter. She's pretty, red hair tied back under her uniform cap and thick sweeps of eyeliner drawing attention to her green eyes. And she looks up and smiles at him and even though he knows she has to be nice to him because she works in customer service his stomach still swoops. "Hi!" she chirps. "What can I get for you?"

"Hot chocolate, please, with a pump of caramel syrup," he says, rubbing a hand through his damp hair. Probably irretrievably messing it up, but he can't bring himself to be too bothered.

She places his cup under the machine and turns back to him, leaning casually against the counter to ask, "It's a little late for visiting hours, isn't it?"

"I had to bring my friend in," he says, and intrigue sparks in her eyes. "We were walking home from a bar and he tripped and fell awkwardly. I think he's broken his ankle. I heard a snap."

"Ouch," she says, wincing sympathetically. "Though I'm sure he's drunk enough he won't really notice. End of finals week and everything." She pulls out the can of whipped cream and says, "My last exam was yesterday. Me and my roommate finished two-thirds of a bottle of gin between us. I had three coffees this morning to soak it up."

"Should you be advocating for binge-drinking?" he asks. "You work in a hospital."

"Please, I'm a barista, not a nurse," she says with a roll of her eyes. "The hospital setting of my job is just a coincidence."

"Well, regardless, I just want to make sure he's okay," he says, and she visibly softens. When she hands him his cup, their fingers brush, and the spark between them makes him start. "Do you mind if I stay here for a while?"

"Do you see any other customers?" she asks, gesturing wildly at the empty café.

"Well, no, but...are you trying to close up the store? I don't want to get in your way." He rubs awkwardly at the back of his head again, the heat of his drink radiating through the cardboard sleeve around his cup.

"You can hang out here as long as you want, I'm on until late," she says. "Want a muffin or a panini or anything? I'm sure you've been drinking too, it'll do you good to soak it up."

He ends up sitting at a table in the corner with a blueberry muffin and a tomato, basil and mozzarella panini. When he checks his phone for the third time in a minute, waiting for a text from Sam about his situation, she comes bustling over and says, "Let's talk. You're clearly worried about your friend and someone should distract you. Let's start with the basics: name, age, field of study." She shudders and says, "Ew, flashbacks to the first day of class."

He laughs and says, "Vision, 22, final year of my history degree."

"Nice to meet you," she says, and reaches across the table to shake his hand. "I'm Wanda, 24, first year of my masters in mental health counselling."

"Oh, that's interesting!" he gushes. Too enthusiastically, if her soft laugh is anything to judge by. But making her laugh is a thrill he wants to chase. "I want to study more after I graduate next summer. I just love academia so much. I think that teaching myself one day is somewhere in the plan."

"I bet you'd be a beloved professor," she says with a smile, and he blushes slightly. "You've already got the aesthetic down."

"I'd like to fast forward to the point in my life when that happens, and not the point in my life where I'm taking my drunk friends to the hospital because they trip and break their ankles while dancing along the curb singing about how drunk they are," he says, and she giggles.

"Well, from what I hear from my professors I think the holiday parties often almost end with them being taken to hospital, so I'm sure you'll still do it," she says, and he shakes his head. "Look at me. I want to be helping kids and teenagers deal with their trauma one day, but I still injure myself in stupid ways."

"Oh really?" he asks. "What's the stupidest?"

"Oh God," she laughs. "Um...I slipped in the shower and hit my head because I was trying to dance to a song." She nudges her foot into his shin below the table and asks, "What's yours?"

"Oh...um...a delivery cyclist on a bike ran me over because I stepped into the road to try and help a hedgehog," he says, and she laughs loudly. It's such a perfect sound, he wants to hear it over and over again. "I only had a bruised toe."

"And a bruised ego, presumably," she says, and embarrassment flares hot in his face. "That's adorable. Did you at least save the hedgehog?"

"He was fine," he says, and she fakes wiping her brow in relief. "But my roommate teased me relentlessly for days while I limped all over the apartment." His phone finally buzzes in his pocket, and he remarks, "Speak of the devil," as he pulls it out.

**From: Sam**

**I BROKE IT BABY! I BROKE MY ANKLE! BEST DRUNK STORY EVER!**

"He's officially broken a bone," Vision sighs, and stands up. "I should go get him."

"Well, thanks for livening up my late-night shift," she says, and he wants to linger. He wants to stay talking to her, about nothing and everything. "Say, um...I know this is probably unprofessional, and you are absolutely welcome to say no, but...can I have your number?"

" _Really_?" It comes out much squeakier than he intended, and he clears his throat to say, "Of course you can. But, um...why?"

"Because you're cute as all hell, and I like talking to you," she says. "I would like to have coffee with you again. Somewhere that isn't a hospital."

"That can be arranged," he says, and she smiles as he hands her his phone.

When he gets Sam back to the apartment, loopy with the pain meds, he sneaks a glance down in between helping him stagger to his room.

**From: Wanda**

**So with finals being over, does Sunday work for you?**

**To: Wanda**

**Sunday is perfect**


End file.
